Main navigation

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Green Goddess is one of my favorite salad dressings, and also a sign of spring! I make this recipe every year as soon as the tarragon comes up in my garden. And this delicious classic dressing is low-carb, Keto, low-glycemic, gluten-free and South Beach Diet friendly! Use the Recipes-by-Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

Have you tasted Green Goddess Salad Dressing? Green Goddess was hugely popular when I was a kid, and for me, it's one of those blast-from-the-past things that I've loved for so long I don't remember when I first tried it. There are definite similarities to Ranch Dressing, but Green Goddess is creamier and more herbal, with generous amounts of chives, tarragon, and parsley.

I used a food processor to finely chop the chives or scallions, parsley, and tarragon. (Pack the herbs into the measuring cup when you're measuring them to go into the food processor. Of course, you can also chop by hand if you don't have a food processor.)

Then add the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and anchovy paste to the processor and pulse a few times. (Or simply stir in if you don't have a food processor. You can also use chopped anchovies, but I thought the paste was easier.)

Add the mayo, sour cream, and a bit of salt and fresh ground black pepper and run the food processor for about 20-30 seconds, until all ingredients are well combined. (Or just stir together in a bowl.) I couldn't bring myself to use reduced-fat mayo in this, but I did use light sour cream.

Let the dressing chill in the fridge for at least a few hours before serving. This will stay good in the fridge for at least a week.

If you're strictly following the South Beach Diet, you should use low-fat mayonnaise and low-fat sour cream to make this dressing. However, I couldn't bring myself to use low-fat mayo for this favorite recipe from the past, and since you're only eating a few tablespoons on a healthful salad, I don't feel too guilty about it. This would be approved for all phases for the South Beach Diet, and it's also great for other low-carb eating plans.

If you want nutritional information for a recipe, you can sign up for a free membership with Yummly and use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information. Another option is entering the recipe into this Recipe Nutrition Analyzer, which will calculate it for you.

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and Kalyn's Kitchen earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

If you make a recipe, share it with the hashtag #kalynskitchen on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so I can see what you're cooking!

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

LOL I've been meaning to make this dressing since I saw it on Hedonia. The tarragon plants I mail ordered last year died, but I wasn't all that crazy about the flavor anyway. I'm betting it would still be delicious without it - traditional or not!

P.S. Your green tomatoes are gorgeous. Congratulations on such a beautiful crop! :)

Susan, I think the dressing would still be great without the tarragon (Duh, I should probably list it as optional in the ingredients, huh?) I am really loving the Green Zebra tomatoes. I think having them by the deck where it's sunny all day long has made a lot of difference.

Oh I do love green goddess dressing. We always had some at home when I was growing up. Haven't had any in years, so it's time to remedy that situation! I don't have any tarragon in the garden because it never took, but it'll be fine without it, I think.

Hi Kalyn, I found you on tastespotting... I used to eat this as a kid too- sounds fabulous. I like your picture as well... it's so hot here in LA that the moment I saw your pic I thought of eating a cool crisp salad. Thanks for sharing ~ Chef Louise

I made the Green Goddess Salad Dressing last night and I can't stop thinking about how good it was. I had most of the ingredients on hand - used tiny red onions in place of the shallots, didn't have any sour cream so I did without. Didn't have any anchovy paste, so I threw in 2 anchovies - could have used one more. Had fresh taragon in the garden...mixed it all up in the blender and served it over stacked Jersey Tomatoes and freshly made mozzarella...Wow! it was the best!! thank you ps I can't imagine that it could nearly as good without the taragon

Kate, so glad you liked it! I'm a tarragon fan as well, but I do think it's a strong flavor that not everyone likes, and for people who don't like it or don't have fresh tarragon, I think the dressing would still be good without it.

I saw a variation of this that uses avocado and basil that also sounded good to me!

No, sorry I was not clear. The avocado was blended up in the dressing, which had basil instead of tarragon and most of the ingredients were the same as this recipe. (Think it might have been Ina Garten recipe, but not sure.) May have to find it and try that version!

I think if the dressing sits in the fridge long enough for the dried tarragon to release some flavor it might be okay, although I might just make it without tarragon if you have the other ingredients. Let us know how it works with dried tarragon if you try it.

Just posted on your chicken nuggets page that we uses this as a dip. Didn't have fresh tarragon so I substituted fresh oregano and a bit of cilantro. Also threw in half a chipotle pepper Bc the mayo I had was kind of sweet. Made a really nice smoky and herby dressing. Will make over and over again. Thanks for your creations. You are inspiring.

This recipe is great! I only 'discovered' Green Goddess dressing last year, and used the 'original' recipe from the Palace Hotel.

I don't use anchovies often, and a tin of them was less expensive than the paste....so I bought a tin, used what I needed, then froze the rest. (it's easy enough to cut off a chunk and thaw if you need it for something else).

And I did use low fat mayo, and low fat sour cream. It turned out fantastic! Thanks, Kalyn!

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

And if you really like the recipe, Pins, Shares, Tweets, and Yums are always appreciated!

Food Blogger Love!

Copyright Notice

All Photos and Original Text (C) Copyright: 2005-2017, By Kalyn's Kitchen® LLC. I grant permission for photos and recipe links to be used in recipe round-ups and copied to Pinterest and other social media sites. All Other Rights Reserved. (Other bloggers may post their adapted version of a recipe found here, with their own photos and recipe text, but please link back to the inspiring recipe on this site.)

Kalyn's Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.